Vasiliy Lomachenko defeated Jamaine Ortiz after nearly a year away from the squared circle serving his nation Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
‘The Matrix’ was scheduled to fight George Kambosos on June 5 for the unified lightweight world title. However, he decided to pull out of the fight and return to his homeland to defend his nation in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
Lomachenko took some time in the first round of the fight to compute data from his opponent. He ended the round strongly with some crisp shots to Ortiz’s breadbasket.
The 34-year-old finally found his rhythm and home with the straight left, which he landed frequently in the subsequent rounds. The American made Lomachenko work hard by hindering his flow. The Ukrainian picked up the pace towards the end of the fight, which paid huge dividends on the scorecards.
In the end, the fight was scored 115-113, 116-112, 117-111 in favor of Vasiliy Lomachenko. He also snapped Ortiz’s undefeated record and became the new NABF lightweight champion.
Vasiliy Lomachenko wants to fight Devin Haney next
Devin Haney joined Vasiliy Lomachenko inside the ring after the Ukrainian beat Jamaine Ortiz via unanimous decision at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Haney is the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBC title since 2019 and the WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring titles since June 2022.
Devin Haney cemented his status as the king of the lightweight division, beating George Kambosos Jr. twice after Lomachenko pushed his dreams aside and chose to serve his nation.
Haney took center stage to congratulate Lomachenko and said:
“I think it wasn’t the best performance bu if me and Loma were to fight..a better version would be on that night. But congratulations. Hopefully we can get it on.”
Lomachenko replied:
“Look, I’m ready. I told before that I’m ready. I’m ready for any option.”
Haney further added:
“That’s what I like to hear. I took the risk. I went over to Australia twice [to fight George Kambosos Jr.]. Everything George Kambosos demanded to me, I signed up for… so we’ll see when we go to negotiate.”
Vasiliy Lomachenko ended the post-fight interview by giving props to the champion:
“Look, he’s the undisputed world champion. He’s a top fighter, that’s why he’s a world champion. [But] I need more time for preparation [to fight Haney] and I will be ready.”
Watch the post-fight interview below:
